Monday, December 24, 2012

This weekend was very busy, but quite wonderful! We were bustling about getting ready for the Christmas supper at the church, last minute baking, etc...

We almost didn't make it to the morning service. The wind and snow were blowing through the night and the drifts across the road were incredible! It was like hitting waves in a speedboat, only we were driving a minivan and they were snowdrifts;).

The kids were well behaved at church, which is always a huge blessing:).

We came home in the afternoon to bake the pies and put get the Turkey soup. The drive back to town the second time was MUCH better! I'm very thankful for all the ladies who were helping. It made the whole experience a lot more enjoyable and the fellowship was a blessing.

We met some new people and enjoyed fellowship with some that we hadn't seen in awhile. The weather was -21 and may have kept some people home, but we thank the Lord for those that came and look forward to seeing what the Lord will do in the year ahead.

Merry Christmas to all our family and friends that we can't be with tomorrow!

Friday, December 21, 2012

In the midst of an exciting day some of the Hutterite girls came up to let me know that my friend, Miriam, lost her baby boy today. This is the 3rd baby that she has miscarried in the past 8 years. Feeling sad at her loss and praying for healing for her and the family. I know that they were REALLY looking forward to this new little one. She was further along this time and thought that they'd be holding the new little one in the New Year. Looking forward to meeting this little boy in Heaven and praying for wisdom to be a comfort to a friend...

I was going to tell the kids that we were starting our Christmas Break today, but then just decided to tell them that it's field trip day:). We're going to the Hutterite Colony to watch their Christmas Concert. We're excited to see what the play will be about this year. The music is always good, the play is always a surprise;).

I'll leave you with a couple cute pics of the kids to get you through til after Christmas...

I'm very excited that 3 of my friends have now been removed from my prayer list. The reason is because they are now holding those precious little ones and enjoying one of the best early Christmas presents ever! Angie had a little girl. Amanda had a little boy and Hannah had a boy. I'm loving the names-Audry,Lincoln and Liam.

Praying all the best for these families as they bond with their little gifts from the Lord. May they have wisdom to guide these little ones as they grow and point them to the Saviour.

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Is this a bad thing? It's so nice to see things coming together. It all started with learning to make pajamas. Everyone in the family is getting some for Christmas except Scott and myself. Even Elyssia's doll gets some:). Then I thought of something else to make and couldn't seem to stop. I'll wait til after Chr

I'm very excited to see the kids response to the homemade gifts that they haven't seen me making. I think waiting is the hardest for Elyssia. She declares at least once a day that it's too long to wait for all the surprises:).

Only 2 more big days to get through before we get to Alberta. Friday we're heading to the Glidden Hutterite Christmas Concert. Scott has to be somewhere else, so I'll be taking the kids by myself for the first time. We've visited without Scott, but not gone to the concert alone. Thankfully we know quite a few people that will be there, so I'm thinking it will be lots of fun. The second thing is our community supper that we're offering to the community on Sunday night. There have been a couple of responses already, so I'm hoping that means we'll have quite a few that come to share in the celebration of Jesus' Birth and allow us to be a blessing by serving them this one night of the year.

The kids have been very busy making their own surprises and finishing up the last week of school before holidays. There have been several interruptions, but overall we're quite a bit ahead of schedule. Looking forward to taking a break from things. We'll continue with the History lessons, since that's the kids favorite subject right now. I'm enjoying learning a lot of it for the 1st and 2nd time with them:). They're currently snuggled inside a homemade teepee in our living room discussing canoeing upstream and Jacques Cartier, etc...

The kids learned how to play Duck, Duck, Goose today. It was really funny to see Addie walking around bopping the others on the head and saying, "Duck!"

Caleb has recently been printing his name over and over. I'm thrilled that he mostly taught himself how to do it too:). I showed him a couple times, but he was the one that stuck with it and kept writing it til it looked right.

There's a certain warm glow coming from both the kids rooms. They really wanted to decorate their rooms, so I gave them each a set of Christmas lights. I have to say that it looks pretty cool. I didn't take a picture though, cause I never really get the colors right for those.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

That's kind of how my mind is feeling as I try to think of what to write today. I really should be writing in the evening, while things are fresh, but I've been choosing to get a little extra sleep on the nights that we're not out and about with ministry opportunities. I'm really not sure if Addie's late night eating is a phase or a habit that she's gotten into. It starts about midnight and she seems to think she needs to eat every hour or so after that. It's really changed the way that my body functions right now. I'm feeling more alert in the middle of the night and a bit more fuzzy during certain parts of the day. This too shall pass though, for they are only little for such a short time. Besides that, she makes up for it by being so loving and snuggly, so I can't stay upset about the lack of sleep for long, even if I wanted to:).

Today is the last jam delivery day that I'll be making until after the New Year. It's given me time to bake a little and discover a wonderful recipe for Honey Wheat Bread. I love that it makes 3 loaves too, because we're going through amazing amounts of bread as the kids get bigger and have their growth spurts. What better to give them than Bread with Butter and Homemade Jam:). Looking forward to next year when the butter will be from our own animals too! Scott was able to locate a goat that we should be able to purchase in the spring. It'll be nice to have the extra milk and cream fresh instead of needing to get up to 5 gallons a week at the store now.

Also on the agenda is locating some chickens. Some for eating and some for eggs. I think the biggest hurdle will be getting Sam to see them as part of the farm and not something to try to chase off. They might not lay eggs for a couple days if he scares them. Hopefully it won't take very long for him to accept them and not go crazy when he sees them.

Last Saturday Scott let me go for a sewing day. It was a very productive and fun day. We were able to get pajamas made for the older two and if we hadn't made a mistake with the back part of the pants for the younger 2 they would be done too. Will be finishing those up at the church this afternoon:). We also tried to do button holes. It went pretty good on the spare material that we tried it on, but not as good on the pajamas. Thankfully it's not really visible and we just decided to go with the elastic instead of drawstring. It inspired me to do more sewing though, so I'm hoping to finish a couple more gifts before Christmas and through the rest of the winter.

School is always interesting. The latest History lessons were on Henry the 8th. I knew a bit about him, but never really went in depth with it. The kids know far more than I ever knew and even Kiersten remembers quite a bit of what was taught. The good and the bad...

Well, I'd better start rounding up kids and loading things into the van. Elyssia worked quickly and is finished with most of her subjects. Garrison can read to me in the van:). Homeschooling definitely has benefits!

Monday, December 3, 2012

I haven't posted that much since last week-too busy cleaning up all the little flu victims. It struck Addie first , poor thing didn't know what hit her. All those long night feedings spent building up her weight are gone, but thankfully she's quite perky now. She also has 8 teeth and had a growth spurt! One by one we've succumbed, but I'm ever so thankful that I was the last. I remember one flu season that I had it at the same time and it's hard to clean up the others while sick and gagging. I got it last night and that brings me to the reason for this post.

The little ones really seemed to take Daddy's advice this morning when he told them to "take care of Mama". There has been quite a bit of discord lately with those well enough to engage the others and I wasn't looking forward to Scott's departure for work. God's full of suprises though. They banded together to wash dishes, feed animals, amuse Addie and even put in some laundry. Elyssia finished all the schoolwork that she didn't need help with and Garrison even took the time to do some:). This has been a huge blessing and the quiet rest time this morning has helped me to feel quite a bit better. I don't know if I'll be up for the big grocery trip this evening, but it's nice to be walking around a bit today. The sun is shining!

A Thankful Monday for this Mama!

p.s. I just heard Kiersten telling Caleb-"You will get sick". "You'll be throwing up tonight". Such an encouraging sister;).

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Yesterday my husband gave me a very special gift. He kept the 4 older kids and let me go with a lady from church for the day. She had an appointment in Saskatoon and said that after that we could do Christmas shopping, etc... I started off the trip by tripping over a sled buried in the snow, dropping the diaper bag and falling ever so "ungracefully" on the ground. I'm actually still laughing about it. Snow makes a great cushion and there's no soreness. My friend was laughing too once she confirmed that I was okay:).

Addie was super good on the trip. She slept most of the way there and back and even took a nap in the middle when we were having lunch. It gave us a great opportunity to talk and talk and talk. So many subjects, so many stories. It was spiritually refreshing, physically refreshing because I had Addie to carry, but not 4 others to keep an eye on. I'll admit that there were times that I missed the others, but I knew that they were in very capable hands and having a great time. We were able to get all the gifts that I needed, except one. We probably would have gotten that too, but somehow my eyes didn't see it when I was looking at my list.

We had delicious food at a diner, enjoyed getting to know a Chinese couple in the Once Upon A Child store and visited with them for quite awhile while I was waiting for my friend to get back from her appt. They are Christians, have one little girl and they've only lived here for 2 years.

I was hoping to call some friends of ours that live in Saskatoon and had taken some gifts to give them. My friend wanted to make one more stop at Michaels before we went to lunch and you'll never guess who walked up to me when we were in the check out. Yes, it was our friends! What are the chances of that? In Kindersley the chances are higher, but in the city that practically never happens. Maybe because we only go about two times a year:), but I'm giving the credit to the Lord for working that out. He's sooooo amazing!

I got to go to Costco, which is always a fun experience. I don't always buy much, but there were some really good sales on fruit, so I picked up a couple kinds to make jam with. The jam business is still booming-Praise the Lord. I have about 3 batches to deliver this afternoon and I should have at least 2 more to make and deliver next week.

Today is Scott's day off. He is attending a rural pastor's meeting and I'm praying that he has a wonderful time. That he comes back refreshed and encouraged for the busy month ahead.

Monday, November 26, 2012

I'm writing this down because I doubt that my memory will retain it forever. Yesterday was one of those days that started off a bit wonky, but ended up being one of the best days ever!

1st Scott came downstairs to tell me that one lady had returned and brought 2 other ladies with her. The interesting thing is that I had met both of them in the last couple months. It was a great surprise and even better was the fact that they really seemed to appreciate the preaching and fellowship. Praying for more opportunities to be a blessing to them in the days to come.

Secondly, Garrison was taking his turn to watch Addie downstairs for main service. She's in training to sit upstairs, but due to a couple loud sessions she needs to get through at least 3 church practices in a row without losing it to be able to sit upstairs with us again. I asked Caleb if he wanted to be the usher and he excitedly agreed. He went up at just the right time and was quiet through the prayer. Went to the first aisle, collected the offering, then turned around and started to go back to Scott. It took 3 tries to get all the way to the back, but he didn't drop the offering plate and I think the feeling of being a helper for the Lord was worth taking the extra time for:).

Thirdly, Kiersten started singing along with the hymns. Elyssia has gotten quite good at reading and singing at the same time, but Kiersten usually stares at the rest of us while we sing. Yesterday she was singing the chorus to "Victory In Jesus". She did great, but I noticed that she was saying, "He shot me and he bought me". It was hard to keep singing while suppressing my laughter:).

Fourthly;) Caleb requested "Amazing Grace" in the evening service. He sang along quite well and at the end he raised his hand and said, "Daddy, I sang lots of the words!" I love it when the kids get to the age where they're able to sing the hymns from memory.

When we got home last night I was carrying Addie to the house and Kiersten was right behind me. All of the sudden I hear her crying. I turn around to find that she slipped on the ice and had slid under the front bumper of the car. Yes, the vehicle was turned off. We both started laughing and she kept declaring, "I slipped on the ice"!

Saturday, November 24, 2012

To look a lot like Christmas! Not the everywhere we go yet, but around here. The kids decorated the tree yesterday and it was the first time that I didn't have to help. They enjoyed looking through and finding each of their own first ornaments and we've just about outgrown the little tree that sits on top of the piano. I'm not ready for a full sized one yet. I know it just means more work for me, so we'll make do with this one for the next year or so.

This pic was at the start of the decorating. Will save the fully decorated pic of another post;).

Our first batch of Christmas cookies. There was enough sugar cookie dough for each of the 4 oldest to help decorate a full sheet of cookies. I think the most enjoyable part for them was eating the cookies:)

Friday, November 23, 2012

Last week I put up a post on the Kindersley Facebook site to see what the interest would be for homemade jam. To make a long story short, I sold 40 jars in about 3 days!!! It was amazing. I had some people giving me jars to make more and many that promised to give my jars back to get the 50 cent refund that I offered. I'm giving the credit to the Lord for this one. He gave me the strength and energy to get several batches made and to make it through the huge delivery day.

I haven't written about it before, but the reason for the sales are for a BARN RAISING! Very excited about this!!! I was trying to figure out a way that the kids and I could help to earn the money without Scott having to work more hours. We sold the Wii and got close to the same amount back that we paid for it 2 years ago:). I different collectibles, books that I bought when I was younger, extra Tupperware and DVDs that were just taking up space. Pretty much everything sold in 2 weeks time. Soooo, we just about have enough for the foundation and we have all the rest of winter and spring, plus a bit of summer to save and raise money for the rest. We're really looking forward to getting chickens, pigs(not the stinky part), a sheep or 2, maybe a llama for Uncle Preston:), a cow for all our dairy needs and Elyssia's hoping we'll add a horse in a couple years. Caleb is hoping for the tractor:). So, that is what has been occupying quite a bit of our extra time lately. It's also opened up a lot of opportunities to get to know more people in the community and surrounding areas. People that I never would have met otherwise. Praying that the Lord will give me wisdom through all of it. The kids enjoy helping make jam and we're enjoying the time we spend working together.

Yesterday we also celebrated American Thanksgiving. The kids enjoyed helping to set everything up and the choc chip pumpkin cake with cool whip was a huge success:). The neat thing was looking at the table and seeing so many things that the Lord had helped us to grow this year. Pumpkins, corn, potatoes... In the years to come we might have everything on the table come from right here on the property. We're especially looking forward to the milk, eggs and butter!

Yesterday I was reaching into the fridge to find a snack for Addie. I offered her a pancake and she pushed it away. She shook her head and pointed at the eggs. She clearly said, "THAT!" She's a girl that knows what she wants and SHE LOVES EGGS! Pretty much any way that you fix them:Fried, Scrambled and Hard Boiled. SHE LOVES EGGS:).

So, I'd better get back to working with the kids. They're doing really well, motivated by the fact that we'll decorate the tree today if they get done early. Maybe I'll surprise them with sugar cookies too!

Friday, November 16, 2012

Can you believe it! We've had a wonderful year watching this little one grow and develop her own personality. She makes us all laugh a lot and is currently #1 favorite with all of her siblings. Lucky girl gets to be fought over:). Poor little one has the snuffles, but is handling it quite well. I think this is only her second cold since birth, which is something else to be extremely thankful. Life with 4 siblings means lots of germs and they LOVE to SHARE those, even when they won't share anything else;).

We thank the Lord for 5 wonderful blessings that make our lives so much richer with their existence. We thank the Lord for giving each of them to us, even though it meant also needing to increase our patience:). We thank Him for being with us each step of the way and look forward to seeing what He has for us in the years to come.

Friday, November 9, 2012

I'll admit I'm getting quite bad about pulling out the camera when Nana and Grandad come to visit. There's always a lot going on and I just enjoy the time visiting and watching the kids interact.

Addie with her new Birthday Teddy Bear.

I especially enjoy this picture of Addie booshing Grandad:)

There was lots of reading, crafts, story-telling, school time, dishwashing and making meals together. Grandad's probably happy to have a little peace and quiet again, but overall I think we all had a great time. Lots of memories to keep us til Christmas:).

He was extremely happy to wake up on his 6th Birthday and have no more sleeps til he got his presents:). He enjoyed putting together Lego creations from Uncle Kirk, wearing and showing off his cool Batman socks from Auntie Darlene and spending the day with Nana and Grandad!

The gifts from Grandma Prisk are also coming in handy and he looks very grown up in his flannel jacket and bird-watching with his new binoculars. I'll have to get a picture of that later.

Scott got to stay home for part of the morning and made pancakes for breakfast. A rare treat for Wednesday mornings:).

The weather has been quite nice until this morning. The snow returned with a vengeance and I think we have almost as much as the last snowfall.

Thanking the Lord for 6 amazing years with Garrison and praying for many more, should the Lord hold off his return.

This little munchkin has a new word. It's actually quite cute since she says "Ticka Ticka Ticka" while tickling her own belly:).

She thoroughly enjoyed her first cupcake that we gave her on Garrison's birthday last week. She seems to enjoy most any food that is put in front of her, which is something to be truly thankful for.

She's gone from tottering first steps a month and a half ago to running around the house looking for siblings and mischief:)

Despite her extremely cute face and winning ways she has developed a very shrill scream that pierces that place in your head that produces instant pain! So, we're doing our best to put a stop to it and pray that it is a short lived phase.

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Okay, so I have to laugh every time I hear this now. Kiersten really likes Little House on the Ferry:). She talks about how naughty Nellie Olsen is and how she shouldn't be mean to Laura. Most of you know the correct name of the show ends in Prairie, but I love my 3 year old's version of it:).

Now that things have quieted down, here are some pics of the munchkins-bathed, enjoying popcorn,snuggling together and watching an episode of "Little House On the Ferry."

This is a first for me. Elyssia stayed overnight with her cousins in Georgia and she's slept in the trailer, but hosting a sleepover has not happened at our house before. Her new friend, Machaela came over yesterday for Elyssia's 8th Birthday. I wasn't sure quite what to expect. I tried to make it fun, while not allowing things to get too crazy. Here are a couple of pictures that I took of the girls:

There was jewelry making, personal pizza assembly, scrapbooking, very little sleeping, school and lots of playing going on. I think I'M going to sleep well tonight:)

I really should have posted about this earlier, but it's been a really busy time since Thanksgiving.

Scott's been needing a farm truck for quite awhile now. It's been on the list, but not at the top and kept getting put aside. A couple weeks ago I was driving down the street by the church and noticed a truck for sale. Older, but still fairly decent. I wrote down the number and Scott ended up recognizing it when I gave it to him. A former co-worker:). Soooo, last Saturday we became truck owners again. Scott had a nice one when we got married, but ended up selling it around the time we had Elyssia. The kids LOVE riding in the fields with Daddy!

Sam's not so sure. Scott lifted him into the back of the truck, but he jumped back out before we started driving. The foolish dog even tried biting the tires when Scott was driving slowly in the field!

The perfect recipes for buns!!! Can you tell that I'm excited:)? They rose wonderfully and were soft and delicious to eat. Here's a picture of the first batch:

The bonus in the picture is that you can see Addie standing in the background. She'ss been walking a little over a month now. A few steps here and there. Today she walked from the bathroom to the far end of our kitchen:).

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

I'd like to encourage you to click on the link and read the post of a friend of ours. They can use a lot of extra prayer right now as they've started a most unexpected journey with one of their children.

Just one of the many things my oldest brother has been up to lately.
Sometimes I'm amazed that we're related:). The Lord has certainly
blessed him with many talents and he's using them to help others in so
many ways.

Just wanted to take a moment to say how thankful I am for my brother(s). They watched over me growing up and tried to include me in much of what they did, even when I was a pest. Yes, I was one of those pesky little sisters. When I wasn't reading or spending time with Dad I was usually following one of them around, wanting to do whatever they were.

They have to wait until next month to be thankful, but I get two months to think of things I'm thankful for-due to my dual citizen status:). Actually I'm pretty sure God wants to see a thankful spirit each and every day that He gives us, but we do tend to focus more on it at this time of year.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

It's hard to believe that you're 3 already. You were one of the first gifts that God blessed us with after moving to Saskatchewan. God knew what He was doing when he sent you to us and we thank Him for his love and kindness in doing so.

There are days when I feel so inadequate to be a mother, but you, and the other children, are so loving and forgiving of my many mistakes. You bring so much joy and laughter to our lives and we wouldn't trade it for the world or anything that it has to offer.

You have a special twinkle in your eye that often means you're hiding something or know something that we'll probably discover sooner rather than later.
You're eager to learn and follow your sisters and brothers wherever they go. You have a healthy fear of coyotes, moose, mice, the dark, etc, but we'll treasure the memories of you snuggling with us in the years ahead when you're grown and gaining more of an independent spirit.
I love to hear you talk about Jesus and pray fervently that you'll be saved one day very soon!
I love your joy over the simple things in life. Your happiness over pink balloons for your Birthday:).
You're fearfully and wonderfully made and we thank the Lord for you!
You've accomplished a lot this year. You've got a huge vocabulary, ride your tricycle forwards and backwards, made a super cute flower girl at your Uncle's wedding, decided that pink was your favorite color, counted to 10 by yourself and potty trained like a pro. You love to help in the kitchen, especially when it comes to taste testing:).
You adore your little sister and SHE ADORES YOU!

May your 3rd year be truly wonderful and filled with the wonder that Jesus loves you even more than Mommy and Daddy. That's quite a lot, you know:).

Here are a couple more highlights from your special day:

Lots of pink balloons are needed when sisters share a Birthday:).

She carried around her lunch bag almost the whole day.

Her Birthday Quilt! She's warm and snug in her quilt. Just in time for the freezing weather tonight.

Sunday, September 30, 2012

The kids have been asking how long til their birthdays a lot lately. Some days it seemed like September was extra long, but then a week would just fly by. This past week went like that. Scott was back to work after his Scotland trip and we kept chugging along with homeschooling. The kids are making great progress and enjoy the incentive of finishing quickly so that they have more play time.
Monday also marked the start of something I've put off for awhile. Quiet practice for church. Some of you are probably thinking, "Don't they get that all the time being at church?" They should, but some of them are not quite there yet. We've spent too much time going down the stairs to get further instruction about how we need to be quiet and sit still. So, I bit the bullet, so to speak, and went for it. We put in a cd of the Bible and sit for 30 minutes to an hour. Most of you know that our kids can sit for hours if someone is reading to them, but it's different when we're at church. I want them to pay attention and not need the distraction of pictures. A "fidget" for their hands is okay, but I've only been giving them a pencil and notebook and it seems to be going WAY better! Kiersten saw really well all by herself and did great when we practiced at church Saturday. Praying we can do even better today.
Wednesday we headed to town earlier than usual to meet friends, but that didn't end up working out. Instead we played at one of our favorite parks, had lunch, saw Daddy and the he took them home:). I was able to stay in town and finish some of the Birthday shopping. It's a lot easier when I don't have to keep an eye on the train of children behind me and try to "unsuccessfully" hide the gifts that I'm buying for them.
We did some "spontaneous" family pictures when I got home. It was the first time we used the timer setting and I think it went really well. The kids had a lot of fun, especially when they got up in the trees. They kept asking me to take more pictures:).
Scott had a meeting, which ended up keeping him out until close to 11! I think he almost turned into a pumpkin...
Yesterday was filled with activity. Scott and the other men were up fixing another section of the church roof and I took the two little girls with me to get my haircut. Thankfully they were both really good! We went back home and used our extra time to get the house cleaned up.
Last night I had a ticket for a special mom/baby night out. A friend hosted an event in Glidden, which is really close to our place. It started at 7, so the kids were mostly ready for bed before I left. Adelaide did great. We were out visiting with the ladies until 10! Way past our bedtime, but a rare opportunity to meet other ladies from the surrounding communities. I knew at least 5 of the ladies there, but it was nice to meet quite a few more and found that several of us have more in common than a baby on our hip:).
I don't usually write posts on Sunday morning, but thought that I should write while the inspiration was fresh.
Have a great day in the Lord's House!

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About Me

Welcome to Hidden Hollows Farm! We're living in the prairies and looking for ways to enjoy and make the best of each day that the Lord gives us. I'm a Pastor's wife and the mother of 7. We love homeschooling and all the extra time that we get to enjoy with the children. Many of our adventures include 1 dog,5 cats, 4 pigs and lots of chickens:) Thanks for visiting!